Christmas Eve

I know, I know. Christmas Eve was weeks ago. Whatever! Now is the appropriate time for me to post what I cooked!

Pictured above is my (totally awesome!) vegetable Christmas tree. Orange sweet pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, and pretzels. I was the most proud of this, even though it just involved putting chopped veggies on a tree-shaped plate. It was a big hit though. I was worried that people would be like, why are there raw veggies (and fruit! and pretzels!)? This is a holiday celebration - we don't have time for sensible appetizers! But no one can resist things in tree shapes.I served the veggies with Peanut-Sesame Hummus (from Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan), Red Pepper Hummus (from Yellow Rose Recipes), and the Cashew-Cucumber Dip (from Veganomicon - not pictured). The Peanut-Sesame was the most popular, although the Cashew-Cucumber is my all-time favorite dip. I was a bit disappointed in the Red Pepper - I had to add a lot more roasted red peppers than it called for and the addition of curry powder really overwhelmed all the flavors anyway. The texture was great though and I will probably try to make it again, sans curry powder.

I have been looking for an excuse to make the Cheater Baked Beans (Veganomicon) for several months now. These are distinctly different from canned baked beans but still totally delicious. I am now curious as to why canned baked beans are brown, since these were a nice red color. Mystery! I didn't have any light molasses, so I just used regular molasses and added it until it tasted right. These beans also had considerable more texture than their canned brethren. I will definitely be making these again sometime.

For dinner, I also served Carrot Bisque (Vegan with a Vengeance) in adorable little bowls. Additionally, there were mashed (riced!) Yukon Gold potatoes with almond milk & Earth Balance
and roasted applesauce (Vegan with a Vengeance). Everything was a big hit, which means that all of these dishes are very omni-friendly.

My dad and I made gluten-free (and vegan, obviously) versions of the spritz cookies from one of Betty Crocker's cookbooks. I was unimpressed but, after eating one of these, I realized that I didn't like spritz cookies even when I was younger - so pretty but not tasty. My dad loved these those and that's all that matters! Plus, I got to dye things. YAY!